RIX Multi Me Toolkit Selected by TechForce19

RIX Selected for NHSX TechForce19 Programme with the RIX Multi Me Toolkit

The NHSX TechForce19 programme was launched in response to COVID-19, calling on technology innovators to develop and test solutions that could support vulnerable and isolated people during the pandemic.

RIX Research & Media was one of just 18 organisations selected from 1,643 applicants to receive funding to test its solution.

The successful Stay Connected proposal used the RIX Multi Me toolkit to provide an accessible multimedia support network for people with learning disabilities, their support workers and carers. KIM Software Solutions and the Nottinghamshire-based eLearning team were also partners in the bid consortium.

Led by RIX Research & Media at the University of East London, Stay Connected built on the collaboration between RIX and Multi Me, bringing together RIX Wikis, EasySurvey and Multi Me’s accessible tools.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the toolkit provided people with learning disabilities who were isolated or at risk with a safe and accessible way to stay connected with their support networks, share information and communicate with the people around them.

“I’d be lost without it, it’s so good the way people are communicating with each other, they’re showing us how they’re feeling, how they’re spending their time…and it’s a safe environment for everyone to be in.”

Social care worker, Redbridge, London

Funding provides £25K for a pilot trial that we are running with the national charity, MacIntyre and supported adults in Milton Keynes, the Wirral, Warrington and Wrexham. Havencare from the South West are also part of the pilot, alongside Ashcroft Support who are based in Sussex and Surrey, and Redbridge, North London, where we are working with the local authority’s Adult Care Service team. There are about 200 supported users in the pilot and over 80 support workers and care professionals as well as a number of family carers.

This is a 2-3 week rapid pilot designed to show how people’s support circles, lost or disrupted through the lockdown, can be re-established and strengthened through day-to-day diary reporting, goal-setting activities, online chat and the capacity for remote support from key workers.

View the Stay Connect Community Wiki →